AUBURN HILLS -- While its on-screen presence this weekend was limited to two small logos, one on each baseline, Oakland University completed its second tour of duty hosting the NCAA tournament's opening rounds Saturday with a sellout crowd and plenty of smiles all around from fans.

Those close to the Oakland program would have recognized public address announcer Kevin Beers on the microphone, but beyond that, the school's staff ran the show in relative anonymity. Their efforts did not go unnoticed by players, fans and media. Memphis coach Josh Pastner even concluded Saturday's press conference by praising Oakland University, calling its hospitality " 'A'-plus."

"We're pretty much ecstatic with the way everything went," Oakland University director of athletics Tracy Huth said. "It was the culmination of a lot of hard work by dozens and dozens of people.

"So far, all the feedback has been positive. There might be a few things that we certainly could do better and we'll hopefully get that feedback and sit down with the people from The Palace, take notes and prepare for the next time. So far, the general feel is that everything went great."

From the pre-production and behind-the-scenes minutia associated with putting on a behemoth event such as the Big Dance, Oakland and its personnel worked tirelessly for months to make it a success.

Dozens of Oakland personnel combined forces with volunteers and staff from other state schools, in conjunction with layers of Palace personnel, to help pull off the event. With ample personnel in place, Huth called the operation "smooth sailing."

"I don't want to say it was like operating a game in the O'rena, but that's almost what it felt like," he said.

The draw was a home run from Selection Sunday, when it was learned hometown teams Michigan and Michigan State would be playing at The Palace. Each advanced, and after a near sellout Thursday, Saturday's games were played in front of a capacity audience. Players and coaches credited the hometown fans in part with their success.

In addition to its local Big Ten cousins, Oakland also hosted current Summit League rival South Dakota State and former conference foe Valparaiso.

"There certainly was a comfort level for them," Huth said. "To have those schools ... whether that was intended by the (selection) committee, it was enjoyable for us."

Huth, who served in a different capacity as tournament manager in 2006, said the school's athletics staff has grown since its initial effort at hosting. He said there were many similarities with the event seven years ago, including the Palace personnel involved. There was one important change for Huth.

"I was actually able to watch the games this time," he joked, adding he also met with other administrators this weekend. "To get that hands-on feedback and to be right at the arena for much of the action and survey the tournament landscape, it was more enjoyable and gave me a different perspective on it."

Oakland secured a bid to host the event in 2009 and Huth has said previously the school is working with The Palace to bring the event back to Auburn Hills.

After the Golden Grizzlies hosted the 2006 opening rounds, the NCAA instituted the so-called "Oakland rule" standardizing the tournament courts and clearing them of any recognizable traits of the host school with the exception of the end-line logos and the name of the city. The courts are shipped to the destination cities for later rounds.

Huth was uncertain what would become of the grizzly bear head that adorned the court.

"Seeing that bear head on the floor and up on the ribbon boards around the arena was a lot of fun," he said. "We'll take a lot of personal memories away from here.

"My hope is that everyone associated with the university takes a lot of pride in what just happened here over the last week."

Since last week, The Palace transitioned from its staple Disney on Ice program to the home venue for the Detroit Pistons and then, finally on Tuesday, to the host site of two games each of the NCAA tournament's South and Midwest regionals, which began on Thursday.

For its efforts, Oakland University is likely to be rewarded with an honorarium payout by the NCAA. Oakland received about $300,000, which was added to its athletic department budget, in 2006, but the figure has been capped at a smaller amount in the years since.

After a hard week's work, Oakland's staffers get to kick back and watch the NCAA tournament like everyone else.